The invention relates generally to Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) enabled devices, and more particularly, to providing the location of such devices over a telephone network.
It is often important to know the exact location of a telephone. For example, emergency medical services (EMS), communications assistance for law enforcement agencies (CALEA), Homeland Security, etc. rely heavily on the ability to pinpoint the location of an incoming call. Additionally, telephone companies are able to base their rates (i.e., long distance, local) on the location of the caller.
In standard telephony networks, a telephone is readily associated with a physical location through a database that the telephone company maintains. When a call is initiated from a standard telephone, the exact physical location of the telephone is known and information associated with the physical location can be transmitted over the network to, for example, law enforcement or other emergency agencies.
The location of a cellular telephone can be identified through the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers embedded in cellular telephones. When a call is initiated, information associated with the location of the cellular telephone is transmitted over the cellular network.
The location of VOIP-enabled devices, however, is not readily identified. IP telephony customers can move their Telephone Adapters (TA) from one geographic location to another without changing the telephone number associated with the particular TA. When callers place calls from a geographic area other than their local calling area, there is no indication of the current geographic location of the TA.
Some attempts have been made to create an address database associated with VOIP-enabled devices of subscribers in a particular network, similar to a standard telephony network. Even with such a system, there is no way of determining the actual current physical location of the VOIP-enabled device at the time a call is initiated.
What is needed is a system and method for determining the location of a VOIP-enabled device each time a VOIP session is initiated from and/or directed to the VOIP-enabled device.